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false arrest? false imprisonment?

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cessa19

Guest
im 15 and i am going to be competing in the uab regional sci fair in the spring of 2002. my project is on personal space and for this project i decided to record how far people stand from each other in a public elevator. therefore, i decided to record and perform all of my experiments on one of uab's public elevators. i would spend hours at a time on the elevator and some people found me suspicious. however, they usually asked me what i was doing and i would tell them about the project to aviod further suspicion. despite this, some people still found me suspicious and reported me to the campus police. while i was riding the elevator, a policeman walked into the full elevator and told me to step outside. he then radioed in that "he had the suspect in custody." we were then met by another policeman and eventually another one came. they told me i was "under arrest for criminal trespassing" (without even letting me explain anything and in front of a lot of people). this made me very upset and i began to cry. they then asked me for information such as my name, address, etc. i then took them to my mothers office and on the way i got more than 3 steps in front of the three policemen they proceeded to tell me to "come back closer to them bc i was too far". while in my mother's office, they said they were goin to write up a report... is this false arrest and/or false imprisonment and what should i do to get the record straight?
 


I AM ALWAYS LIABLE

Senior Member
My response:

First, you were not arrested. You were detained.

Second, although your mother works at UAB, that fact, alone, does not give you special rights or privileges. The fact of the matter was that you didn't obtain any permission from the authorities of the UAB prior to conducting your experiments.

Next time, get proper permission.

The detention and accusation of trespass was proper.

IAAL
 
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cessa19

Guest
umm...
1st- well it is a public place and i do have the right to be in a public place

2nd- the authorities had no reason to tell me i was under arrest for simply acting "suspicious"... they should have asked me first and i would have told them what i was doing.

3rd- i was told i was under arrest so that means i was under arrest... i was prevented from moving about freely.
 

I AM ALWAYS LIABLE

Senior Member
cessa19 said:
umm...
1st- well it is a public place and i do have the right to be in a public place

2nd- the authorities had no reason to tell me i was under arrest for simply acting "suspicious"... they should have asked me first and i would have told them what i was doing.

3rd- i was told i was under arrest so that means i was under arrest... i was prevented from moving about freely.
My response:

Okay, you were arrested - - and properly so. That's because you were, in fact, trespassing. That's because you had no discernable business with anyone while you were in the building premises or in their elevator.

You weren't arrested for being suspicious. You were detained for being suspicious, and then arrested for trespass after it was discovered you had no reason for being there - - without permission for your experiments. You simply decided to come onto someone else's property and used it for "your own" purposes, and not "their" purposes.

Get permission, first. Should this matter go to trial, you will lose.

IAAL
 
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cessa19

Guest
just because i was using their property to perform an experiment for THEIR fair doesnt mean that i was trespassing.

also, why would i lose if the matter were to go to trial? they falsely arrested me... i had "business" there... and my business was to perform an experiment for their fair. i wasnt simply trespassing on public property. the issue is that uab is a public facility not a private one... and i have a right to enter a public building. i was not committing a criminal act since being suspicious is not a criminal act.

trespassing is the unlawful entry onto another's land... and what i did was not unlawful by any means...
 

I AM ALWAYS LIABLE

Senior Member
My response:

Does the word "Permission" mean anything to you?

It doesn't matter that it was being conducted for "their fair". The cops didn't know your relationship to "their fair" and on top of that, you didn't obtain "permission" to conduct your experiments on "their" property. To the cops, you were a trespasser. You didn't show them any notes, or letters, or anything from building management giving you permission to be there. You merely wanted them to "believe" you. Well, property rights do not work that way.

Even though your experiments were for "their fair", no one knew - - from building management - - that your relationship to the building was for "their fair" - - and thus, could have alerted the cops to your presence. Your experiments could have been conducted anywhere, and not in their building. So, their building was not "imperative" to the completion of your experiments.

You had no express (written), or implied, permission to conduct your experiments on their premises. But, if you had, you would have saved yourself a bunch of grief - - both to yourself, and your Mom. Now, at the very least, it's going to cost you time for court appearances, probation, and a monetary fine - - and all because you didn't use your head.

IAAL
 
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cessa19

Guest
whatever... thousands of experiments have been performed in uab all without the permission of the police or building management (and some of them knew what i was doing and didnt say anything about it)... plus, out of the hundreds of people i told, not one person said i dont know if you can do that... almost all of these people were uab employees... if they had a problem they should have said something then and then i would have called and checked on it... i have never had to have permission from uab or any other institution for simply using their facilities (its not like i was using a lab or some other thing... i was using an elevator... something that is not imperative to their success as a complany) you are prob some lawyer that works for companies like uab... and thats prob y you are so rude and narrow-minded...
 

I AM ALWAYS LIABLE

Senior Member
My response:

Me ? Narrow-minded?

1. Who didn't have permission?

2. Who was arrested for trespassing?

3. Who's going to court?

4. Who's got the juvenile record?

5. Who's going to cost their parent(s) a lot of wasted time and money?

Look, you're young. You're ignorant of the ways of the world. You're argumentative. A judge will inform you. The hard way.

IAAL
 

ellencee

Senior Member
cessa19
You're also going to get a failing grade on your research for not 'getting it'. You just proved that intruding on someone's personal space can have ill effects on the intruder and the intruded.
Don't you get it? Mr. In-charge Of That Building said 'get that kid out of my personal space! she's driving people crazy!'
You are entering a contest! Don't you think you should have made certain that the test site was untainted (by your getting permission, and by going to more than one elevator)!
The police wrote up a report. So what? You haven't been summoned to court and charged with a crime, have you? Be thankful. Face facts; you were in the wrong because you were in a so-called public elevator, not a public test-site.
 

calatty

Senior Member
You didn't specify what state you are in. In California you would not be guilty of criminal trespass. Penal Code section 602 says you are guilty of criminal trespass if you are asked to leave and refuse. It says nothing about getting permission. It is not a criminal trespass to simply be on land or in a building. The police are expected to know the law, so they had no right to detain you. As to what to do about it, probably just be happy they didn't fabricate some charge against you.
 
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cessa19

Guest
im in alabama... and i dont think that according to our laws in bama that what i was doin was considered criminal trespassing (i asked my brother whos a lawyer about it)...
 
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cessa19

Guest
and about the whole permission argument... im plannin on goin to a public shoppin mall... do i have to get permission to go there and look around (i have no intentions of buyin nething)?
 

I AM ALWAYS LIABLE

Senior Member
cessa19 said:
im in alabama... and i dont think that according to our laws in bama that what i was doin was considered criminal trespassing (i asked my brother whos a lawyer about it)...

My response:

To CalAtty - - our writer was trespassing on the campus of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). So, California law does not work.

To Cessna19 - - Don't "think". Know. That's what got you into trouble in the first place. You were, in fact, trespassing and if you had written permission, you would have saved yourself, and your mother, a ton of grief.

Here's the applicable law in Alabama for "Criminal Trespass."

STATE OF ALABAMA.
Current through End of 2001 Regular Session

§ 13A-7-3. Criminal trespass in the second degree.

(a) A person is guilty of criminal trespass in the second degree if he
knowingly enters or remains unlawfully in a building or upon real property
which is fenced or enclosed in a manner designed to exclude intruders.
(b) Criminal trespass in the second degree is a Class C misdemeanor.


STATE OF ALABAMA.
Current through End of 2001 Regular Session

§ 16-47-10. Police officers -- Appointed by president; powers and duties
generally.

The president of the university may appoint or employ one or more suitable
persons to act as police officers to keep off intruders and prevent trespass
upon and damage to the property of the university. Such person shall be
charged with all the duties and invested with all the powers of police
officers. The officer may eject trespassers from the university buildings and
grounds. The officer may, without warrant, arrest persons who commit
disorderly conduct, or trespass on the property of the institution, or in any
circumstance in which an arrest by a police officer without a warrant is
authorized by law, and carry them before the nearest district court or
municipal court charged with the trial of such offenders. Upon proper
affidavit charging the offense, the person arrested may be tried by the court
and convicted as in case of persons brought before the court on a warrant. The
officer or officers may summon a posse comitatus.
 
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cessa19

Guest
yah i knowingly entered but i wasnt in the building ulawfully so it doesnt apply...
 

I AM ALWAYS LIABLE

Senior Member
cessa19 said:
yah i knowingly entered but i wasnt in the building ulawfully so it doesnt apply...
My response:

A judge will let you know.

Your argument, comparing a "Mall" to the "UAB", is specious at best. Think about it - - there's a big difference between a Mall and the UAB, and what you were doing. Like I said, a judge will inform you of the difference if you try and use that argument.

Alabama law specifically states that you were violating the law when you "knowingly enter or remain unlawfully in a building" - - which is what you did; you entered and remained unlawfully because you did NOT have University business to conduct.

IAAL
 

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